Our next FoWT monthly meeting will take place on Monday 1st June 2026 – 7.00 pm (19.00 hrs) via Zoom.
“The BBC And The Bomb: Cold War Broadcasting From The Bunkers” by Iain Betson.
Our guest speaker on the night will be Iain Betson, who will tell us about “The BBC And The Bomb: Cold War Broadcasting From The Bunkers”.
About the Speaker
Apart from two years, when he built nuclear missiles at a secret research centre, (true story!) and being a signatory of the Official Secrets Act as a result, Iain Betson has worked all his professional life in the television and radio broadcasting industry, both in the UK and internationally. A BBC trained radio engineer and training instructor, he trained many of the journalists you see and hear on UK radio and television news.
About the talk
The Last Voice You Will Hear:
The BBC And The Bomb: Cold War Broadcasting From The Bunkers
From the 1950s to the 1990s, if the Cold War had turned hot, the Government had well-laid plans for what to do in the event of a nuclear strike on Britain.
Part of those plans was the implementation of the BBC-produced, but Government-directed, Wartime Broadcasting Service: A single national radio station that would have replaced ALL radio and TV services in the UK.
Originally conceived to provide both information and boost the morale of survivors whilst they waited for rescue, it morphed into a mouthpiece to tell the nation how they might survive after the H-Bomb was dropped and the recovery of the country afterwards.
But for many it would have been the last voice they ever heard…
Using a multimedia presentation of images, audio, video, AI recreations, first-hand memories of the people who ran it and declassified documents, Iain Betson tells the story of this little-known piece of Cold War history: Where would it have been broadcast from? What would have been heard? (you would be surprised!) Who, in the event of an attack, would have descended into the bunkers to broadcast it?
And, he asks, does such a service exist today?
If you would like to take part in this, or any of FoWT’s future monthly meetings, you will need to register your interest. Once registered, we will e-mail you the details you will need to join the meeting on the night.
To register, Fill in the form on our FoWT Monthly Meeting page and we will do the rest. Once you are on our mailing list to take part in our monthly meetings, look out for our e-mail a few days before the meeting, which will give you all the details you will need to join the meeting.
To see the complete list of talks, presentations and speakers planned for 2026.